There were two evil brothers, Paul and Sam. They were rich and used their money to keep their ways from the public eye. They were both notorious liars and thieves. They even attended the same church and looked to be perfect Christians-hypocrites to the core.
Then, their aging pastor retired and a new one was hired. He was a passionate preacher who loved God, and preached the gospel without compromise. The church begin to swell in numbers, and finally a fund-raising campaign was started to build a new sanctuary.
All of a sudden, Paul died. His brother Sam sought out the new pastor the day before the funeral and handed him a large envelope filled with enough cash to completely pay for the new building. “This is enough money to completely pay for the new building, but I have only one condition,” he said. “At the funeral, you must say ‘Paul was a saint.’” That night the pastor prayed, looked at the envelope and prayed some more. Finally after praying much of the night, he fell asleep. The next morning the pastor deposited the money and headed to the funeral.
At the funeral the pastor stood before Paul’s casket and declared, “Paul was an evil man,” he said. “He was a thief and a liar who cheated on his wife and abused his family, but compared to his brother Sam …..Paul was a saint.”
Evil people have always tried to manipulate the church. I have seen it often when a man with a lot of money wants something taught, or wants to choose a special speaker of his own liking. He hints that he will take his tithes and offerings and go to another church if he doesn’t get his way. But God blesses the pastor who keeps his head clear, his heart right, and stays the course. God will bless and use that man. God needs that man. Why? Because God has invested all His purposes in His Church, His people. Jesus Christ is committed to build her and make her strong. He has chosen to come and live in His people, not a building.
Matthew 16:18 …I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
Ephesians 5:25-26 …as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it.
2 Corinthians 6:16 (NIV) … For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
No wonder evil would love to intimidate and destroy the church! It is now His representative on the earth-His hands, His voice. God has invested Himself in the Church. Amazing! He has made the Church to be the hope of the world. It is and should be a place where broken people can come and be restored and made whole. It should be a place where they can meet the same Jesus who is recorded in the Bible. The same power Jesus displayed while on the earth, now lives in His Church.
But you may say the church is just filled with hypocrites and bad people so I am not going. My response is “Don’t let a hypocrite keep you from church. Come on over. There is always room for one more!” Some of God’s greatest men had seasons where they were murderers, adulterers, and manipulators (Moses, David, Jacob). Yet God still perfected them and used them. He is still doing that today in His church.
If I were the devil, I would set my attention to destroy the church. I would do all I can to keep people from church. I would defame her, disrupt her, divide her and discourage her. In the end, though, Jesus and His church wins. At the end of the age, it will be Jesus and His people in heaven. Every person who has ever lived, every angel and every devil, will bow to this great Son of God and worship Him. Being a part of His Church is an honor to Him. Living a life supporting His church keeps us on the winning side.